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TIL From 1898 to 2006 Americans paid a 3% tax on all long distance telephone calls in order to pay for the Spanish American War.

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6EOkl TIL that Billy Joel's last hit "We didn't start the fire" that chronicled 40 years of US and World history in song was inspired by a discussion that Billy Joel had with Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sadly, only 5 of the 59 people that are mentioned in the song are still alive.
XZwR TIL In 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the application of Eminent Domain to kick homeowners off of their property so private developers could build hotels, health clubs, and condos in New London, Connecticut. 8 years later, the abandoned property remains an overgrown, barren field.
GgGg TIL the French Resistance cut the elevator cables to the Eiffel Tower to keep Hitler from visiting it during his visit when Paris fell. When faced with the prospect of climbing over 1500 stairs he opted out.
lo9Ka TIL the queen parrotfish sleeps inside of a protective mucus bubble secreted from its mouth, presumably for hiding its scent from predators at night. The mucus bubble may also serve as an early warning system in the event that a predator, like a moray eel, tries to attack the resting parrotfish.
AGPw TIL when Soviet Minister Molotov stated that the cluster bombs being dropped on Finland were actually food, the Finns began sarcastically calling the bombs “Molotov bread baskets,” which they responded to with their own “Molotov cocktails,” as “a drink to go with the food.”